Jupiter’s ‘jack-o-lantern’ glow captured with University of Hawai’i-built instrument

A team of researchers recently released some of the sharpest images of Jupiter ever taken from the ground. Images captured with the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea help reveal how the planet’s massive storms form and confirm dark spots in its famous Great Red Spot are gaps not a variation in cloud color. Some of the most key observations in the study were obtained with the Near Infrared Imager (NIRI), an instrument that the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (IfA) built for Gemini more than two decades ago. Researchers used a technique with NIRI called lucky imaging, in which a large number of short exposure images are taken and only the sharpest ones are kept.

“This trick works so well only because of the exceptional quality of observing conditions on Maunakea. At inferior sites, you might not get any sharp images. NIRI’s success is a testament to IfA’s expertise in detector technology, optics and cryo-mechanical engineering.” IfA Astronomer Klaus Hodapp who led the UH team that built NIRI for Gemini

Read the full story from University of Hawai’i here.